Sony forecast only 5 million Vita and PSP unit sales in FY14

While Sony’s fiscal year 2013 results paint a positive picture of the PlayStation 3 holding out and performing well as the company waits for the next generation, their handheld division is having less luck.

Sony has offered a forecast of 5 million units sold for their handheld gaming division in the 2014 fiscal year – a number that includes both Vita and PSP sales. The two machines managed to move 7 million units this fiscal year.

For comparison’s sake, Nintendo estimated it would sell 18 million 3DS consoles in fiscal year 2014. Sony’s Vita numbers are surprisingly low, and seem to indicate an expectation that Vita sales will remain largely flat while Japanese sales of the PSP continue to taper as the machine nears the end of its life.

PS3 and PS2 are expected to move 10 million in the same period, impacted by the launch of the PS4. Numbered predictions were not offered for Sony’s incoming next-generation offering, but the company did say it was expecting sales to “increase significantly” with the launch of the machine.